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Hannah the Irin
Dreamers, worthless vagrants whose only use was receiving the visions of the Overlords, surrounded the chamber. Each lay in a shallow recess, and 27 thin bone needles pierced them in different places. The needles were hollow and filled with wax from whale fat and unholy religious oils, while in each a wick burned. As the wax melted, it seeped down the needle into the dreamers' blood, this was what induced the visions. Most of what they said was gibberish, nightmares and twisted memories. They repeated verses to old lullabies, held conversations with imaginary people, and talked in languages no one could recognize. But occasionally it was more than that. These dreams were always preceded by the Dreamers screaming. New Zealots always considered opening themselves up to receive the dreams directly, to speak directly with the Overlords, until they heard the screams. Then the voice came, a variety of voices but never that of the Dreamer. The message was given, the Cultists would faithfully record it and worship at the sides of the recess. The Dreamer was always mentally scarred by the contact, most were only good for 2 or 3 visions before they were replaced. But there were rules to dealing with the dreamers, they were sacred objects. Their food was specially prepared, they were kept clean and groomed and they weren't exposed to any sound or sight that could distress them, until Cinnia. Cinnia was a favored dreamer of the Overlords, having received 7 visions and all the Cultists except Koun of the Ninth Ring agreed she was fit to receive more. Her 8th vision was her last, the Overlords spoke through her in three voices. One yelled in outrage threatening a great wave would destroy the city if atonement was not met. Another spoke of the future, of a human terror that would lead and destroy men, the "Kraken of Fields". The last voice screamed in pain, it was broken and the Cultists were never able to decipher its message, for it was cut off halfway through the messages of the other two. For weeks the Cultists debated the meanings of the visions. Koun argued that Cinnia should be killed, that her sacrifice was the atonement the Overlords demanded. Each day they watched the sea, fearful of a coming wave. Then the Cultists noticed that the sea was beginning to recede, to pull away from the city. The water was gathering somewhere distant, the wave was coming. They rushed to the chamber, worshipped beside Cinnia, asked for guidance on how to appease their masters. They stayed there until one of them noticed Cinnia's stomach had expanded slightly. A sorcerer confirmed it, she was pregnant. The rest of the day was chaos. A dreamer had been befouled, and only Cultists had access to them. Under threat and coercion they found who had done it: Koun of the Ninth Ring. Koun was sacrificed at the beach and the wave never came. Cinnia was taken from the chamber and tended to. She died in childbirth, but gave birth two girls, one was stillborn, the other survived. The Cultists decided that the child was too dangerous to be kept in the temple, so she was given to a Lanun ship captain to raise. He named her Hannah the Irin, after being told she was a twin whose mother and sister died in childbirth. Hannah became as tempermental and powerful as the sea itself. She left her fathers ship at 15 and led a mutiny against her next ship's captain to take it from him. That ship, which she renamed the 'Desecrated Vessel' became feared by military and merchant ships alike. When the time for war came, pirates flocked to her flag. Unaccustomed to central rule, the Lanun follow Hannah, too afraid to do otherwise. Category:Leaders